The CBI is conducting searches at around 11 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in connection with illegal sand mining leases given in Saharanpur, official sources said.
The searches are being conducted in cities like Saharanpur, Dehradun and Lucknow at the premises of accused and other people connected with the case.
The CBI officials said alleged irregularities had been found in the allocation of sand mining leases at Saharanpur, and the searches are aimed at collecting material and document evidence related to the case. The CBI has already registered an FIR in the matter.
The CBI has been probing the cases of illegal sand mining in Uttar Pradesh on the directions of the Allahabad High Court and had registered five preliminary inquiries in the matter. Thereafter, earlier this year, two FIRs had been registered by the CBI in the case of illegal sand mining in the state. In these cases, the names of several bureaucrats and politicians had figured, which led to raids at multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh in July.
also read
According to CBI sources, the role of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is under the scanner as he was holding the charge of the mining ministry in 2012-13. The FIR says that “the role of the then mining ministers during the period between 2012 and 2016 may be looked into during the course of investigation”.
Besides Yadav, the role of other SP leaders and bureaucrats is also being probed in connection with decisions in this period. It was alleged that the accused persons had illegally granted fresh leases and renewed existing leases, causing wrongful loss to the government. The agency is probing the modus operandi of how minor minerals were illegally mined and then transported, besides investigating the role of the leaseholders.
